Avatar: The Last Airbender

Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. Only the avatar can bend the four elements and bring harmony to the chaos. Now, before everyone starts freaking out, I'm not reviewing M. Night's "masterpiece" aka pile of crap, but instead I'll be reviewing each season. Avatar was a cartoon on Nickelodeon and it was pretty well received. The animation style is impressive and the story was well above par. Nobles sang, monks smiled and people were happy. Sadly, I was not one of those people. I was in highschool when this cartoon came out and deemed it too "childish" for me. Ironically, I was watching what the kids call anime then so joke's on me. As the years went by and I studied martial arts (hence the name of my blog) I grew to appreciate this kid's show. Recently, I purchased the first "book" and gave it a watch. Now the plot's this: Every blah blah year an avatar is born and masters the four elements; earth, water, air and fire. This avatar apparently brings peace by doing this and then the next avatar is chosen. Aang, an airbending monk is the avatar and must learn the elements before the Fire Nation does...more evil things? I'm not sure.

 

Can't say no to that face though.

Now, I'm going to review the episodes I deemed the best of the season and rate them. Don't get me wrong this is a decent show, but I can't review the whole thing in one go. Let me get you with a synopsis of the story: As said before, Aang, is the avatar. Katara and her brother Sokka find him and they learn that Aang must learn how to bend water. So, they set off to the North Pole to find a master. Hijinks ensue. Now, to the episodes I liked!!


Imprisoned: So, Aang and the gang (yeah, took me like five seconds to come up with that) see a boy practicing Earthbending. They scare him off, but they learn he lives in a village where those pesky Fire dudes are shaking down the villagers for petty cash. The boy, Haru, says that the Fire Nation forbids Earthbending and will arrest anyone who does it. However, an old man get trapped and Haru must use his bending to save him. The Fire army hears of this and arrests him. Katara feels responsible and "earth bends" to get arrested. She finds Haru and other benders on a metal rig in the ocean, and attempts to rally them. They are too discouraged, but eventually they learn they can beat the Fire army. It's a neat episode, once they learn that there is something to bend their hopes are raised and the beat the bully. Oh and George Takei makes an appearance, so this episode's awesome. Oh my... <George Takei voice>

I will be your host. And you will be my guests.

The Storm: A man notices Aang is the avatar and accuses him for not being there when it mattered. Aang runs off and we learn what really happened 100 years ago. Also, we learn why Prince Zuko (the main antagonist) is why the way he is. It's a cool origin story and we see different sides of each character. Aang normally fun and outgoing becomes closed and indifferent. Zuko, cruel and ruthless, starts out as an ambitious young man, only to speak out against his father and end up fighting him. The way this story is told is neat. It gives more humanity to the characters making them easier to relate to.

The King of Omashu: Yeah, it's somewhat out of order, but still. Aang and his friends stop by Omashu, an earthbending city to have fun. Their fun comes to an end when they cause massive damage to some cabbages, but the king decides to do something else. Aang is put through some challenges and ends up dueling the king himself, not knowing that the king is actually a powerful earth bender. In the end, the king actually knows Aang and gives him some helpful advice before he takes on the Fire Lord.

The Siege of the North 1 and 2: The avatar gang finally make it to the North pole. However, it's not what they expected. Katara, a water bender herself, cannot learn alongside with Aang because women are good for healing that's what. The Fire Navy decides to launch an attack on the Northern Water Tribe in hopes of capturing Aang. Aang must stop the Fire dudes, but he hasn't mastered water bending. Oh, Sokka falls in love with the princess of the tribe, but she can't love him back. Then she turns into the moon. Seriously. Aang defeats the Fire Navy and everyone is well.

Flying is the best.

The good:
The majority of it to be honest with you. The art is stunning. The action scenes look good. Some of the fights remind me of a Jackie Chan film, because Aang does some stuff similar to Chan's style. The characters are well written and you feel like you're alongside them and living their adventures. The stories are well thought out and aren't run of the mill. I even like the uses of Chinese martial arts. Yes, each style of bending is based off a style of kung fu. I can even name the styles. Ready? Fire: Shaolin Kung fu (crap, that must mean I'm a fire bender) Water: Tai Chi. Earth: Hung Gar. Air: Bagwa. See? Nailed it. There's even Chinese symbolism and art styles used through out the season. It's a well done series.

The bad:
Unfortunately, kung fu can't make me ignore some flaws. First off, Aang. I get that he's 12 years old and has a lot to learn, but didn't the monks he learned with leave any lessons? Aang likes to have fun, I get it. I'm cool with it. But when he's learning something new, he's too impatient or too busy goofing off. For example, when he's learning water bending at the North Pole, instead of taking it seriously, he uses his newfound powers to turn him self into a snowman. Kid, fun is good for you, but turning yourself into a snow man ain't going to save the world. Other than that, Aang is awesome. Zuko, oh Zuko. Listen to your uncle. After losing so many times, you could learn a thing or two from your uncle, who happens to be a general. Oh, and that means he has more field experience than you. Now for the princess thing. When the water princess is introduced, her father says: "She's 16 and that means she can be engaged." Did that mean like one second later, someone asked to marry her? Poor Sokka goes through hoops but she's all "Boo hoo, I can't like you because I'm marrying random citizen No. 32." Random citizen is introduced and he....I don't know what happens to him. He just kinda stopped showing up. But, don't tell me princess here can be engaged, but whoa! She's totally marrying someone now. That was dumb. Then she turns into the moon. I can't say that enough.

Overall:
Avatar: The Last Airbender is a solid cartoon. Even after all these years, I consider it a titan compared to some other cartoons that have just come out. It's original, funny and serious rolled into one. Personally, I can't wait until I watch season two. I give this cartoon (at least this season)

4.5 staff glider thingys out of 5. 

Did you like this review? Want me to review Book 2: Earth? Let me know! Other than that, I'll keep reviewing movies.